Wafer hold time extension conveyor



June 3, 1969 A. M. SCHAIBLE 3,447,452

WAFER HOLD TIME EXTENSION CONVEYOR Filed Oct; 17. 1966 Sheet 012 INVENTOR AARON M. SCHA/BLE ATT'Y June 3, 1969 A. M. SCHAIBLE WAFER HOLD TIME EXTENSION CONVEYOR Sheet Filed Oct. 17. 1966 INVENTOR AARON M SCHAIBLE ATTY.

United States Patent 3,447,452 WAFER HOLD TIME EXTENSION CONVEYOR Aaron M. Schaible, Rockford, Ill., assignor to International Harvester Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 17, 1966, Ser. No. 587,213 Int. Cl. B30b /04, 5/00; H30b 1/00 U.S. Cl. 100-151 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to conveyors in general and more specifically to conveyors particularly adapted to convey wafers under compression.

The advent of waferizers, or pelletizers as they are often called, as a means for handling forage crops has introduced problems not previously encountered in the farm implement industry. The primary advantage of waferizers over other forage crop handling devices such as hay balers is that the hay is compressed to a substantially greater density and thus the product commonly called wafers, pellets, cakes, etc. occupies less space per unit volume. This facilitates storage and handling of the crop during winter months. In order to attain the degree of compression required to form the wafers, the equipment must be designed to withstand extreme pressures, and the energy expended in forming the Wafers is substantially greater than that required for hay balers. The obvious result is the cost of constructing and operating a waferizer is substantially greater than that of ordinary balers, a factor which to a certain extent has retarded the commercial exploitation of the waferizer.

The present invention contemplates the use of a unique conveyor to be used in conjunction with a waferizer, toconvey the extruded wafers from the waferizer to a depository, such as a trailing wagon, under a continuous compression force. It has been found that the density and stability characteristics of a wafer is a function of pressure and pressure hold-time. Therefore, increasing the wafer hold-time, as is contemplated by the present invention, allows a corresponding decrease in pressure to elfect the same wafer characteristics. This reduces the pressure requirements of the waferizer and permits the use of smaller equipment which, of course, reduces construction costs. Operation of the waferizer at a reduced pressure requires less power, a consequence which not only permits the use of a smaller prime mover but also results in reduced operating cost.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for improving the density and stability characteristics of wafers.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a device for increasing the compression of holdtime of wafers after the wafers have left the waferizing machine.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a device which when used in conjunction with a waferizer allows the waferizer to operate at reduced pressures.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a conveyor which applies a compression force upon the wafers conveyed thereon.

3,447,452 Patented June 3, 1969 Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention depicts the conveyor as operating in conjunction with a hay waferizer, it is to be understood that the scope and spirit of the invention are broad enough to include all similar machines known as waferizers, pelletizers, compression equipment, etc. used to compress forage crops such as hay, Wheat, grass, etc. into relatively small articles called wafers, pellets, cakes, etc.

A fuller understanding of the principles and objects of the present invention .may be had by referring to the attached claims taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the novel conveyor contemplated by the present invention mounted on a waferizer;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational side view of the conveyor shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary and enlarged view of one end of the conveyor;

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of tht conveyor taken generaly on line 44 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a diagram of the power chain interconnecting the conveyor and prime mover output.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention as described herein illustrates the novel conveyor 10 operating in conjunction with a land traversing hay waferizer 11 towed by a tractor (not shown). Referring to FIGURE 1, the waferizer includes generally a chassis 12 on which are mounted the waferizer components including the novel conveyor 10, the subject matter of the present invention; a hay pickup mechanism 13 for picking up windrows of hay; a cross feed auger 14 for directing the hay to a first stage compression unit 15; a vane-type compression unit 16; and a die unit 17 through which hay is extruded thereby forming hay wafers which are discharged at outlet 18. The waferizer 11 is also provided with a. prime mover 19 which in addition to driving the waferizer components propels the conveyor 10. Inasmuch as the components of the waferizer per se form no part of the present invention, only a general description of these parts is included merely to indicate the environment for the novel conveyor contemplated by 'the present invention.

The conveyor 10 comprises in general a lower frame 20 which is rigidly connected to the waferizer chassis 10 by means of braces 21, and an upper frame 22 floatably carried by the lower frame 20 and substantially parallel thereto.

As best seen in FIGURE 2, the upper and lower frames 20 and 22 are provided with independent conveying units designated generally as 23 and 24, respectively; the upper unit 23 being positioned to substantially overlie the lower unit 24 and spaced thereabove so that the space between the conveyor constitutes a wafer passageway 25 or a Wafer hold-time zone. An inlet 26 to the passageway 25 is positioned immediately opposite the die unit outlet 18 for receiving wafers W as they are extruded therefrom, and a conveyor outlet 27 is positioned at the opposite elevated end of the conveyor for discharging the wafers W into a trailing wagon (not shown).

Details of the conveyor 10 are presented in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4. The lower frame 20 includes a longitudinal intermediate portion in the form of a pair of parallel structural angles 28 arranged in side-by-side relation and having upwardly and inwardly facing legs designated as 29 and 30, respectively.

A plurality of cross angles 31 are bolted to the bottom sides of the upward facing legs 30 thereby interconnecting the parallel angles 28 at longitudinally spaced intervals. The ends of the cross angles 31 terminate at a point laterally outwardly of the inwardly facing legs 29 and 30.

A driven sprocket 33 and an idler sprocket 34 are journaled to the longitudinal ends of the lower frame as shown generally at and 36, respectively. A table-top chain belt 37 is trained over the sprockets 33 and 34 thereby forming a top run 38 and a bottom run 39.

The pair of angles 28 have welded respectively thereto a plurality of downwardly extending brackets 40, the brackets of one angle aligned with corresponding brackets of the other angle. The lower extremities of the aligned brackets are interconnected by guides 41 over which the bottom run 39 passes, thereby limiting the belt sag of the bottom run 39.

The upper frame 22, which is floatably carried by the lower frame 20, includes a longitudinal intermediate portion in the form of a pair of parallel angles 42, each having a downwardly facing leg 44 and an inwardly facing leg 43. The pair of angles 42 are interconnected at spaced intervals by transverse cross angles 45 welded to the top side of the downwardly facing legs 43. The ends of the cross angles 45 terminate at points outside the downwardly facing legs 44. Idler sprockets 47 and 48 are journaled to the upper frame ends as shown generally at 49 and 50. Trained over the idler sprockets is an endless tabletop chain belt 46 forming a top run 52 and a bottom run 53. The top run sag is limited by means of a plurality of guide plates 54 transversely positioned on the top frame 22 and spaced at longitudinal intervals.

The upper frame 22 is spatially positioned above the lower frame 20 so that the bottom run 53 of the upper frame 22 substantially overlies the top run 38 of the lower frame 20 and is normally engageable therewith. The top frame 22 is floatably carried by the lower frame 20 by means of a plurality of spring loaded connectors 55 which interconnect the ends of the cross angles 31 to correspondingly aligned ends of cross angles 45.

As best seen in FIGURE 3, a stud 56 passes through apertures provided in each of the cross angles 31 and 45. One end of the stud 56 is rigidly secured to angle 31 by a nut and lock washer arrangement as shown at 57; the opposite end is floatably secured to the angle 45 by a compression spring 58 and cap 59 held in place by nut 60 so that vertical movement of the upper frame 22 with respect to the lower frame 20 compresses the compression spring 58.

The ends of the lower frame 20 are connected to corresponding ends of the upper frame 22 by side plates 61. Each plate 61 is rigidly bolted to the lower frame 20 as at 62a and attached to the upper frame 22 by a bolt-slot arrangement shown generally at 62. The bolt-slot arrangement 62 restricts lateral movement of the upper frame 22 with respect to lower frame 20 but permits vertical movement in accordance with the principles of this invention.

The lower conveyor belt 37 is propelled over its track by rotation of the driven sprocket 33 which is drivingly connected to the prime mover shaft 63 by a power chain as illustrated in FIGURE 5. A chain 65 interconnects the sprocket 64 mounted on the prime mover power shaft 63, and an intermediate sprocket 66. The intermediate sprocket 66 is co-rotatably mounted on the shaft 67 which also has mounted thereon a sprocket 68 which is interconnected to a conveyor sprocket 70 by chain 69. The conveyor sprocket 70 is co-rotatably connected to the driven sprocket 33 by shaft 71 so that. rotation of the prime mover shaft is transmitted through the power train to the conveyor. The sprockets 63, 66, 68, and 70, comprising the power train, may be sized to effect the proper speed reduction between the power shaft 63 and the driven sprocket 33.

As the waferizer 11 advances along the windrows, hay is picked up and directed to the first stage compression unit 45 by auger 14 where it is compressed to baler density and guided to the rotary vane compression unit 16. In the rotary vane compression unit 16, the hay is further compressed to wafer density and extruded in increments through the die unit 17 and discharged as wafers W through outlet 18. The extruded wafers W are immedi- 75 ately picked up by the conveyor at the conveyor inlet 26 and carried sandwiched between the top conveyor belt 46 and the bottom conveyor belt 37 through the hold-time zone 25 thereby preventing springback of the wafers W.

Upon entering the conveyor inlet 26, the wafer W, having a thickness T slightly greater than the vertical dimension of the normally disposed passageway 25, forces the upper frame 23 upwardly relative to the lower frame 20. The bottom run 53 of the upper conveying chain 46 and the top run 38 of the lower conveying chain 37 ride on their respective angle members as shown in FIGURE 4, so that the compression force remains substantially constant as the wafers W are transported through the entire length of the passageway 25.

As the wafer W is carried along by the lower chain 37, the frictional engagement of the wafer W upon the upper chain 46 drives the upper chain 46 along its track in a counterclockwise direction. Thus the wafer is fixedly held sandwiched between the conveyor belt from the inlet 26 to the discharge 27. The degree of compression force applied to the wafer W is determined by the strength of the compression springs 58. The hold-time of the wafer is thusly substantially prolonged since the sandwiching force of the belt is removed only when the wafer W is discharged from the conveyor at outlet 27 It should be understood that the foregoing disclosure relates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that numerous modifications or alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a waferizing machine having an outlet through which wafers are individually extruded in a compressed state, a wafer conveying and pressure hold-time apparatus comprising:

an upper frame having a longitudinal intermediate portion;

an upper conveyor mounted on said upper frame and having upper and lower runs disposed on opposite sides of said intermediate portion;

a lower frame having a longitudinal intermediate portion;

a lower conveyor mounted on said lower frame and having upper and lower runs disposed on opposite sides of said lower frame intermediate portion, said upper runs of said lower conveyor confronting said lower run of said upper conveyor and therewith defining a pressure hold-time zone, said hold-time zone being in registry with said outlet of said machine for receiving wafers therefrom in a compressed state;

a plurality of assemblies interconnecting said upper and lower frames at longitudinally spaced intervals for maintaining said frames in substantially parallel relation, said assemblies including biasing means for urging said frames toward each other, said intermediate frame portions of said upper and lower frames being engageable with said lower run of said upper conveyor and said upper run of said lower conveyor, respectively, whereby said biasing means applies a substantially constant compression force to individual wafers throughout the extent of said holdtime zone; and

means for driving one of said conveyors whereby wafers received between said confronting runs are conducted through said hold-time zone, said conveyors operative to impose a substantially constant compression force on said wafers for maintaining a substantially constant density thereof thereby improving the stability of said wafers.

2. The invention as recited in claim 1 wherein said assemblies each comprise means for restricting relative movement of said frames in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said conveyors whereby said biasing means applies a force on wafers in said dwelltime zone in a direction normal to the planes of said confronting surfaces.

5 6 3. The invention as recited in claim 2 wherein said 3,213,783 10/1965 May et a1 100118 X upper and lower conveyors each include a pair of longi- 3,348,475 10/1967 Fenster et a1 100177 tudinally spaced double sprockets, a pair of laterally 3,352,229 11/1967 Morse 100-38 spaced chains trained over said sprockets, and a plurality of transverse rigid cleats spaced about the peripheries of 5 FOREIGN PATENTS said chains and interconnecting said chains. 1,130,181 9/1956 France.

145,409 5/1962 U.S.S.R. References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS PETER FELDMAN, Primary Examiner. 2,296,516 9/1942 Goss. 2,833,633 5/1958 Hecht 4413 3,090,295 5/1963 Crane et a1. 100 177, 191; 198-465 3,168,057 2/1965 Bliss. 

